28 
OUR MINERAL RESERVES. 
large and advantageously situated. No deposits of antimony ores 
have been found in the United States which entirely fulfill these con 
ditions, and as a result practically all the antimony metal used here 
is imported from European smelters, mostly from England. The 
ores for these smelters come largely from China, Mexico, and France. 
So long as the war lasts, and especially so long as sea traffic is dis 
turbed, the production will be curtailed and prices raised, for the 
use of antimony in type metal, and especially in bearing metals, is 
fixed and will continue. Other uses, such as the making of coffin 
trimmings, which consume a surprisingly large quantity of anti 
mony and from which there is no secondary recovery, might con 
ceivably turn to aluminum or other metals as substitutes. 
For several years the production of antimony in the United States 
from domestic ores has been confined to that contained in antimonial 
lead and small quantities recovered in the electrolytic refining of 
copper and lead. A production of antimony from foreign ores— 
which can only be estimated—is also made. The antimonial lead is 
mostly a by-product in the smelting of the precious metals, and 
efforts are made to save all possible, so that this production can not 
be largely increased. Th^quantity saved in electrolytic copper refin 
ing can probably be increased, though not enough to make it a 
serious factor in the market. 
The production, recovery, imports, and approximate consumption 
of antimony in the United States for 1913 are shown in the following 
table : 
Production, recovery, importa, and consumption of antimony in the United 
States, 1013. 
Antimony contained in antimonial lead from all sources, including by-product anti 
mony - 
Recovered from wastes, scrap, etc. (including a little ore), nearly all as alloy 
Imports: 
Met al and regulus 
Crude antimony and ore (probable antimony content).’ 
Quantity 
(short 
tons). 
2,540 
2,775 
0,210 
1,200 
Approximate consumption of metallic antimony 12,755 
Value. 
$450,491 
402,115 
798,581 
137,780 
1,828,967 
Besides these items, more than 1,000 tons of oxide and salts of 
antimony, valued at over $117,000, were imported. 
It is probable that under the pressure of high prices attempts will 
be made, as in 1900-7, to work American deposits. If this can be 
done without great initial outlay, some antimony miners will prob 
ably make good profits; but it may be only a few months before 
prices will be back to or near those prevailing during the last six 
or seven years.